The Five Most Common Types of Conflict In The Workplace

The Five Most Common Types of Conflict In The Workplace

1. Interdependence Conflicts. A person's job depends on someone else's cooperation, output or input. For example a sales-person is constantly late inputting

the monthly sales figures which causes the accountant to be late with her

reports.

2. Differences in Style. People's style for completing a job can differ. For example,

one person may just want to get the work done quickly (task oriented), while

another is more concerned about having it done a particular way e.g. artistic or

by including other people in the project.

3. Differences in Background/Gender. Conflicts can arise between people

because of differences in educational backgrounds, personal experiences, ethnic

heritage, gender and political preferences.

4. Differences in Leadership. Leaders have different styles. Employees who

change from one supervisor to another can become confused, for example one

leader may be more open and inclusive whilst another may be more directive.

5. Personality Clashes. These types of conflict in the workplace are often fueled

by emotion and perceptions about somebody else's motives and character. For

example a team leader jumps on someone for being late because she perceives

the team member as being lazy and inconsiderate. The team member sees the

team leader as out to get him.

How To Handle Personality Clashes

All types of conflict in the workplace can be messy but it is the differences in personality

that causes the most grief. Statistics show that 85% of dismissals in the US are due

to personality conflicts.

Most of you at some point will experience a personality conflict. So here is an important

rule to follow if you want to successfully resolve the conflict and improve the

relationship.

You Must Subdue Your Own Story

There are two types of stories you can tell yourself.

One story puts a halo over your head and enables you to justify to yourself why you

have behaved poorly.

The second type of story is the one you tell yourself about others. This story causes you

to see devil horns on the heads of others and has you labeling them in a negative

fashion, placing you in a downward spiral of animosity toward them. A few examples:

Situation/Scenario

Story You Tell

Someone lets you down and it's not the

first time.

They are irresponsible and unreliable

You let someone down and it's not the first

time.

It's because you've been overworked

recently.

Someone cuts you off while driving

They are rude, aggressive and

inconsiderate.

You cut someone off while you are driving

It's because you are in a hurry and if you

don't catch these lights you'll miss your

doctor's appointment

One of your peers buys the boss a birthday It's because they are soft-soaping the boss

card

and trying to weasel their way in for a

promotion.

You buy your boss a birthday card

It's because you are warm and caring.

Someone flies into a rage at the post office

clerk

They are bad-tempered

You fly into a rage at the post office clerk

It's because you're tired and this is the 3rd

time you've been here trying to resolve the

problem and the post office keeps making

the same mistake which is costing you

money

Sometimes your stories are accurate, but more often than not they are either inaccurate

or completely wrong.

The truth is often somewhere in between the story you've told yourself about why the

person has acted the way they have and the actual facts.

Subduing your story is important for three reasons:

1. It ensures you don't over-react to a situation

2. You open you up to the possibility of a healthy discussion ... rather than

ambushing the other person with your emotions

3. You begin to sift fact from story.

Use this Exercise to Sift Story from Fact

Think of a conflict you have with someone at the moment. On a piece of paper in the left

hand column write down all the stories you are telling yourself about the person. All the

feelings, thoughts, judgments, labels, conclusions that are running through your head.

On the right hand column write down all the Facts. These are observable, objective,

specific actions and information.

As you look at your list you may find that the story you have been telling yourself is not

fully supported by all the facts. That you have made many assumptions and

interpretations about what the other person's behavior MIGHT mean! Have you ever

heard the saying "We judge others by their actions, but ourselves by our intentions"?

You don't truly know what the other person's intentions are without asking.

This exercise is not designed to cause you to not address your concern with the other

person. It's purpose is to help you wash down any over-heated emotions you may have

coursing through your body. Now, you will be more likely to hold the conversation with

less accusation and more curiosity.

The number one goal in any type of conflict is to discover the truth. Subduing your story

is one sure step in enabling you to achieve this goal.

No matter the types of conflict in the workplace, ignoring it and hoping it will go

away, is going to cost you. Possibly cost you quite dearly.

If you are a leader in the business it is going to cost you in terms of wasted time listening

to people's complaints or you complaining to others about how tough you've got it, lost

productivity as people spend more time worrying about the conflict than the

organizational goals, absenteeism, health claims, people withdrawing emotionally,

employee turnover, aggression and at times even violence.

If you are involved in the conflict you may feel these emotions: discontent,

miserableness, distress, frustration,resentment. Unfortunately, generally, most people

are not adept at leaving these feelings in the workplace at quitting time, so they trundle

along home with them impacting on and often causing conflict and tenseness on the

home-front as well.

You help you and your people to be far happier and far more productive when the skills

to deal with any type of conflict in the workplace are learnt and mastered.

The beautiful thing is that this type of training is a gift that keeps on giving - not only in

the workplace but into the wider community. Sadly most people never truly learn the art

of resolving differences and turning them into successful conversations, which often

traps them in a life of unhappiness and suffering.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download